Geithner Says Stimulus Still Needed

NEW YORK -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday the government must be careful not to repeat past mistakes and withdraw stimulus support too soon.

"We have improved the prospects [that] we won't be consigned to a long period of subpar growth," but "it's going to be a slower than typical recovery," and right now, downside risks continue to outweigh those that are positive, Mr. Geithner said.

The temptation might be as conditions improve to back off on the various stimulus efforts the government has undertaken, he said. "We are going to be very careful not to make that mistake" given that errors like this have happened in the past.

Mr. Geithner was speaking as part of an event held by The Economist at Pace University in New York, in what was called the Buttonwood Gathering: Fixing Finance.

The official noted that large economies are soft but that emerging economies are recovering more strongly. He said that the world will depend less on the U.S. as an engine of growth.

Corrections & Amplifications: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the government has improved the prospects that "we won't be consigned to a long period of subpar growth." An earlier version of this article incorrectly quoted Mr. Geithner as saying the government has improved the prospects that we will be consigned to subpar growth.

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